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Brian Hudson (Austin, TX)Into the Black (Strong Woman Records)Unlike rock music, folk tunes have the burden of captivating the listener with words and not musical bombast. Given the limited room for lyrical error, it's understandable that many artists dabbling in forms of folk today tend to lean towards a more rocking sonic direction. Perhaps the idea of thoughtful, vulnerable lyrics being laid out into the open to handle the heavy lifting is one that sends many an acoustic-guitar wielding performer running away. Brian Hudson doesn't seem to suffer from any such anxiety, however. At times throughout the first several tunes, the breezy vibe shuffles dangerously close to the beachy-keen sun splashes of Jack Johnson, but it never quite slathers on the SPF-30. Instead, it follows a reliably solid course of steady folk artistry.